Yerevan mayor vows to eradicate vote-buying after Armenia elections

Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan has pledged to eradicate vote-buying in Armenia, warning that those found responsible for electoral violations will face the full force of the law.

Speaking to reporters during a briefing in parliament, where he presented a report on the implementation of Yerevan’s 2025 municipal budget, Avinyan accused opposition forces of engaging in widespread vote-buying during the country’s recent parliamentary elections, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“If previous elections were held with a relatively small number of violations, this time the opposition resorted to widespread vote-buying and the transportation of voters from other countries. This was a red line, and crossing it will have very serious consequences,” Avinyan said.

The mayor's remarks came amid controversy surrounding the vote count and recount process following the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Addressing claims that ballot recounts were being conducted to prevent the Prosperous Armenia party from entering parliament, Avinyan dismissed the allegations. According to preliminary election results, Prosperous Armenia secured 3.996% of the vote, narrowly missing the 4% threshold required for parliamentary representation.

Avinyan noted that the ruling Civil Contract party also lost approximately 1,200 votes during the recount process. However, he emphasized that the primary issue was not the redistribution of votes but the need to eliminate electoral corruption and hold violators accountable.

“These people have no idea what awaits them, and what awaits them is punishment to the fullest extent of the law. Such people should have no place in our political landscape,” he said.

The mayor further stated that opposition groups accused of violations—including the Strong Armenia bloc, the Armenia bloc, and the Prosperous Armenia party—were not barred from participating in the elections. According to Avinyan, this decision was made to avoid allegations that the authorities were engaging in political retaliation against their opponents.

“Even with massive vote-buying, these forces were unable to win,” he added.

According to preliminary election results, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party received 49.825% of the vote. The opposition Strong Armenia bloc, associated with businessman Samvel Karapetyan, garnered 23.281%, while the Armenia bloc led by former President Robert Kocharyan secured 9.934%, comfortably surpassing the parliamentary threshold.

By Vafa Guliyeva